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Home Schooling German Family Fights Deportation

Home Schooling German Family Fights Deportation

Uwe Romeike works with Lydia, Josua and
Christian during their home schooling session in the dining room of
their home in Morristown, Tenn., on April 2, 2009.

Wade Payne/EPA

A German family that fled to the United States in 2008 to be free to
homeschool their children is fighting deportation after a decision
granting them asylum was overturned.

Uwe and Hannelore Romeike, devout Christians from the southwest of
Germany who now have six children, initially took their three oldest
children out of school in their native country in 2006. Shortly after,
the German government started fining the family and threatening them
with legal action.

Home schooling has been illegal in Germany since 1918, when school
attendance was made compulsory, and parents who choose to homeschool
anyway face financial penalties and legal consequences, including the
potential loss of custody of their children.

To escape such legal action, the family fled to the United States in
2008 and was granted political asylum in 2010, eventually making their
home in Tennessee. U.S. law states that individuals can qualify for
asylum if they can prove they are being persecuted because of their
religion or because they are members of a particular "social group."

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement challenged the decision to
grant the Romeikes asylum to the Board of Immigration Appeals in 2012,
claiming that Germany's stringent policy against homeschooling did not
constitute persecution.

The board overturned the initial asylum decision, arguing that
homeschoolers are not a particular social group because they don't meet
certain legal standards, The board said that the home-schooled
population is too vague and amorphous to constitute a social group.

Now the family is fighting that decision in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which will hear the case on April 23.

"We think we have a pretty strong case," Romeike family attorney Michael
Donnelly told ABC News. "We feel that what Germany is doing by
preventing this family and a lot of other families from exercising their
rights in the education of their children violates a fundamental human
right," he said.

Donnelly says the right of parents to decide the direction of their
child's education has been established in Article 26, section 3 of the
United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights which reads:
"Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall
be given to their children."

"Our Supreme Court has said that the state cannot unduly burden,
restrict, or direct childrens' education privately," said Donnelly,
referring to a precedent established in a 1925 case, Pierce v. Society
of Sisters.

Karla McKanders, an asylum and refugee law specialist at the University
of Tennessee at Knoxville, told ABC News the family faces an uphill
battle.

"They are trying to establish that they are eligible for asylum under
the social group category, which is a difficult group to prove in the
first place," McKanders said.

McKanders also says that public policy implications as far as the United
States' relationship with Germany could also be in play in this case,
and that immigration officials may be wary of setting a precedent that
establishes homeschooling as a means for asylum.

"They don't want to open up the floodgates for similar asylum claims based on these grounds," she said.

Recent changes in immigration enforcement policy are also at issue.

In 2011 the Obama administration initiated a new policy called
"prosecutorial discretion" that gives the government broad power to
pursue only high-priority cases. The policy was designed to give
Department of Homeland Security the power to decide which deportation
proceedings it wishes to pursue.

"This case would probably fall under one of those cases that should be a
low priority because you have a family that is fleeing based on their
own beliefs," McKanders said. "They of course do not have a criminal
background so it should be one of those cases where they are not
spending a lot of resrouces, but it's not."

"The attorney general has the authority at any point in time to grant
the family asylum," said Donnelly, who added that he hopes that's
eventually what happens in this case. "These folks should be allowed to
stay, they meet the standard."

The Justice Department declined to comment to ABC News. Immigrations and
Customs Enforcement said it is its policy not to comment on pending
litigation in federal court.

Donnelly and Home School Legal Defense Association leader Michael Farris
have petitioned the White House to allow the Romeike family to remain
in the country.

"Every state in the United States of America recognizes the right to
homeschool, and the U.S. has the world's largest and most vibrant
homeschool community," read the formal petition on the White House website.

"Regretablly, this family faces deportation in spite of the persecution
they will suffer in Germany. The Romeikes hope for the same freedom our
forefathers sought," it read.

And as of yesterday the supreme court ordered the Obama admin to respond (but I thought the above article was better for discussion): http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/11/26/supreme-court-orders-obama-admin-to-respond-to-german-homeschooling-familys-deportation-appeal/

So, what do you think? Is it a appropriate reason for asylum? What do you think about Germany's law against homeschooling (which I wasn't even aware of!)?

First of all I don't care what they do in Germany because it's their law and rule. If they are here illegally then they do not belong here. It's sad but you have to play by the rules. Its how life works.

First of all I don't care what they do in Germany because it's their law and rule. If they are here illegally then they do not belong here. It's sad but you have to play by the rules. Its how life works.

Would you support the US banning homeschooling, and parents facing fines and potentially losing custody of their children if they don't comply?

Do you think not being allowed to choose how their children are educated is a violation of their rights?

They were granted asylum in 2010, but that was challenged by us immigration in 2012. So, whether they are here legally or not is still being decided.

The courts determined their case does not fit asylum standards, I agree. Deportation is the only choice at this point.

Laws against homeschooling are very common throughout the world.

So, you think it's ok for countries to ban homeschooling?

I do.

If another country determines that education is of enough importance that they want to ensure certain standards and ways of teaching that they don't want to leave it to individual parental whim, that's up to that country.

In the usa no. I don't want my government dictating shit. That is why I live here.

If the courts said their asylum is gone than they need to abide by the rules.

Quoting SewingMamaLele:

Quoting numbr1wmn:

First of all I don't care what they do in Germany because it's their law and rule. If they are here illegally then they do not belong here. It's sad but you have to play by the rules. Its how life works.

Would you support the US banning homeschooling, and parents facing fines and potentially losing custody of their children if they don't comply?

Do you think not being allowed to choose how their children are educated is a violation of their rights?

They were granted asylum in 2010, but that was challenged by us immigration in 2012. So, whether they are here legally or not is still being decided.

The courts determined their case does not fit asylum standards, I agree. Deportation is the only choice at this point.

Laws against homeschooling are very common throughout the world.

So, you think it's ok for countries to ban homeschooling?

I do.

If another country determines that education is of enough importance that they want to ensure certain standards and ways of teaching that they don't want to leave it to individual parental whim, that's up to that country.

So, you feel that the government has more rights to the children in that country and deciding what is best for them than the parents do?

For me I don't live in a country that isn't free and I believe that government needs to stay out. Other countries these are rules the ciitzens need to deal with. This is why this country fought so hard to be free.

Quoting SewingMamaLele:

Quoting rfurlongg:

The courts determined their case does not fit asylum standards, I agree. Deportation is the only choice at this point.

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